Happy Chaos by Soleil Moon Frye Page B

in an effort to protect me. He explained that the female swan was pregnant and so the male swan was protecting her. Seemed normal, I guess.
    We saw his beautiful llama and then went back to his house. It was around this time that he went to change Bubbles and I found myself alone in the foyer of his mansion. All of a sudden on the intercom I could hear Michael saying, “I see you.” I looked around, for the first time feeling slightly uneasy, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. I think once he realized he had freaked me out, he came out to get me. “Want to take a Jacuzzi?” he said. I replied, “Sure.” I was excited and thought it would be fun. I remember having a hard time finding the right bathing suit, but I finally settled on a dark green one.
    So there we sat in his Jacuzzi, talking about life. As I mentioned earlier, even at five, I wanted to know people’s entire life stories. I was eight then, so I asked Michael plenty of questions. I remember him talking about the fact that he related more to kids than adults, and that grown-ups never completely understood him. He sat across from me and we had a dialogue as if we were peers—a true heart-to-heart. He never made me feel like this was a bizarre situation. It just seemed as if he really wanted someone to talk to, someone who would make no judgments about him. After the Jacuzzi we went down to the arcade and played games until my mom came to pick me up. Michael never left my side that night, and when we parted, he was very kind. I never saw him again after that, and I am not sure that I even told my mom about the Jacuzzi until recently. This story is not one I have shared often, but now I realize, if even for only one night, Michael Jackson was my babysitter. As strange as it all sounds—and I know it sounds strange—it was a highlight in my young life.
    Recently, I was in a situation where I really needed extra help. I had a big meeting and found myself locked out of my car down at the beach with the kids. I called everyone I knew and trusted but couldn’t reach anyone. My husband was able to get me halfway to the meeting in his car, but not all the way due to his own hectic schedule. The only person I could get ahold of was my Teamster stepfather, Shawn. He and I had a strained relationship over the years, but he was immediately ready to help me. Jason pulled into the parking lot of Yum Yum Donuts, and I jumped out of our car with my two girls and into Shawn’s giant gray truck. We were off to the Valley, where my meeting was. I ran into my meeting frazzled, but when I came out, I found my stepfather pulling up with my happy girls in tow, holding on to Slurpees. They also were holding signed head shots of the Laker Girls. Apparently, the Slurpees were free because, according to my five-year-old, “The Laker Girls let us spin the wheel.” I looked at my stepfather, wondering what 7-Eleven he had taken the girls to. His response was “One that had Laker Girls.” Fair enough, I suppose.
    When we got back to my house, the kids were happy, and Shawn stayed for dinner. As we sat around the table, chatting and feeding the girls, I realized it was the first time that he and I had ever been alone with the girls. Suddenly our not-so-close relationship became so much warmer. The one person in my family that I would never have thought to depend on became someone I really needed to depend on, and our total dynamic changed. What a gift. In that moment any frustration that I had with him as a stepfather disappeared because I saw the incredible grandfather he had become, and my heart opened up in a way I did not realize was possible.
    One piece of advice I can give from this experience is to write down a list of the people you love and you really trust, keep that list by your side for emergencies, and even add the ones you might not usually think of, because you never know when you are going to need